Has The "Beckham Rule" Worked For MLS?

In years to come when someone sits down to write the definitive history of MLS, 2012 will almost certainly be remembered as the season when the "Designated Player" snowball became more like an avalanche.

There have been 53 designated players in MLS over the last six seasons and 31 of them are playing this season. Of the 31 over half (16) are in their first season in the league.

In 2007 MLS adopted the Designated Player rule. It was designed to allow clubs to attract players who could bring some much needed cache to the league while retaining the financial discipline of the salary cap.

Of course, there are many who just simply referred to it then (and now) as "the Beckham rule." Before Beckham's move from Real Madrid to the LA Galaxy there was no need for such a tenet. Clubs were simply required to adhere to a player salary cap that by 2007 hovered just north of a modest $2M a season.

The "Beckham Rule" was a mechanism that assigned the first $400,000 of the designated players salary against the salary cap with the additional salary becoming the sole responsibility of the team owner. Each team in MLS was permitted one such player should it wish.

To provide some perspective prior to the 2007 season MLS only had three players who earned in excess of $400,000 per season.

For the 2007 season only the New York Red Bulls (Claudio Reyna), the Chicago Fire (Cuauhtemoc Blanco) and FC Dallas (Denilson) took up the Galaxy's challenge and signed designated players.

Five years on and the team salary cap is now a little over $2.8M and the rule has now gone through a number of iterations. Teams are now allowed three designated players each, the salary assigned per DP against the cap is $350,000 and there is relief for teams who sign DPs mid-season or who are under the age of 23.

The $64,000 question (or perhaps that should be a $2.8M ?) - has the Designated Player rule worked?

As with so many other things the answer is probably it depends.

One of the fears expressed by non-Galaxy and Red Bulls fans as the number of designated players increased from the original 1 to now 3 was that championships would simply be bought. (Cynics might point out that would finally put MLS on par with the big European leagues but that would be to digress).

So far it hasn't happened. It took until the 2011 season for a team with a designated player(s) to win the MLS Cup - yes, it was the Galaxy but back in January 2007 some were prophesying that an era of LAG domination was at hand.

The 2012 MLS season has about a third to go but a look at the standings makes it difficult to find a correlation between acquiring designated players and "success".

In the Eastern Conference there are a total of 14 designated players covering 10 teams. Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls both have 3 each - the Red Bulls are 3rd in the conference while Toronto is dead last. Leaders Houston Dynamo have 1 DP, as does 4th place DC United while Sporting Kansas City has no DPs.

The Western Conference has the bulk of the Designated Players with 17 being carried by 9 teams. FC Dallas (8th), LA Galaxy (5th) and Seattle Sounders (3rd) all carry the maximum number of three DPs.

Only two teams have no DP - Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes - but the Earthquakes sit top of the conference and they have the best record in MLS.

So based on the assumption that one objective was to ensure that the competitive balance of the league would not move aggressively in the direction of one or two clubs you would have to say "target hit".

Next is the question of worldwide profile. The arrival and continuing presence of David Beckham has garnered a phenomenal amount of media attention throughout the world. If Beckham was to suffer a dislocated sock in training the story would fly round the world in a matter of minutes.

The MLS line five years ago was that the others who would follow Becks would add to the leagues credibility and generate global media attention.

On that count the old 80/20 rule might kick-in. Eighty percent (probably more) of the worldwide media coverage has come from about ten of the 53 DPs.

It is fair to say that the players who have delivered have over delivered while the others have sadly failed in terms of spreading the MLS word far and near. (A list of the biggest disappointments can be found at the end of the article).

But perhaps it is being a bit melodramatic because there seems to be a movement away from signing "names" to acquiring players who may not send the headline writers giddy but who can improve the overall quality for their team.

And perhaps signing players with a more limited profile is one of the most interesting aspects of the massive increase in the number of MLS DPs.

Key to understanding what has happened is the salary cap. The cap continues to generate virulent debate amongst fans. A vocal minority of fans believe that the salary cap is inherently evil and an imposition that stops MLS from competing with other leagues for top talent.

A more level-headed group look at a league that was only formed in 1996 but that has managed to establish deep roots. One of the keys to success has been the building of soccer specific stadiums.

To build stadiums and to absorb losses during the league's start up phase (25 years in this instance is start-up) requires deep pockets. Business people with deep pockets are willing to take short term hits if they can see future profits. But they also need to understand and manage the downside and a salary cap provides a high degree of certainty.

The dilemma facing the league five or six years ago as it drew increased attention from prospective investors was how to stay true to one of its initial objectives (developing a generation of US players) while expanding the number of teams in MLS and not allowing the standard of play to deteriorate while mining a relatively limited pool of domestic players.

It seems like an almost impossible quandary but solve it MLS has done - whether intentionally or by stumbling upon a solution.

MLS detractors point to salary statistics as proof that the league is failing the masses who are not DPs.

In 2012 the minimum rookie salary is $33,750 and for a veteran $44,000. The average salary is pegged at between $100,000 and $150,000 a year. These amounts are a pittance compared to salaries earned by most other North American team based athletes.

But the problem is that the non-DPs are a bit like the middle class when it comes to tax cuts. Everyone wants to cut their taxes but there are so many of them is just costs too much.

An increase of $50,000 in the average MLS salary would require the cap to be increased by about a million dollars a year per team. Everyone thinks it would be great to increase the average salary for non-DPs but would it improve the product? Would it sell more tickets?Would it increase viewing numbers? The answer for all three is almost certainly no.

Take that $1M, make it discretionary and allow a team to invest in another DP or two and the answer for the three questions above is almost certainly yes.

Since 2006 MLS has increased the number of teams from 12 to 19 and the number of professional players in the league by over 100 in addition to the DPs.

That alone should be a cause for praise. However, a significant boost in the average salaries is not something we can expect anytime soon.